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Miles Quaritch
Colonel Miles Quaritch was the main antagonist of the 2009 film Avatar and the Chief of Security of Hell's Gate on Pandora. Having no regards for indigenous lifeforms, especially the Na'vi, and considering them all expendable, he directed the destruction of the Omaticaya Hometree and led the SecOps forces in an attempt to destroy the Tree of Souls. He was killed when Neytiri shot him twice through the chest with her bow. Biography Before Pandora and First Days Before his tour of duty on Pandora, Quaritch served in numerous military engagements without injury, most notably three tours in Nigeria with First Recon. On his first day on Pandora an encounter with the wildlife dealt him a trio of trademark scars to the side of his head. Given the option to return home for reconstructive surgery he opted to stay on Pandora. With his impressive record he was eventually chosen as the chief of security of Hell's Gate. Chief of Security As Chief of Security on Pandora, Colonel Quaritch was responsible for the security of the Hell's Gate facility and its personnel, which necessitated keeping the Na'vi in check. He had his own Dragon Assault Ship, which was personalized with an orange-colored Chinese dragon painted below the cockpit. Quaritch impressed Jake deeply and made Jake a promise that, in return for intel on the Na'vi, he would talk to the RDA corporate executives and get approval for Jake to receive expensive treatment for his spinal injury, which would then return the use of his legs and give him a service in the SecOps. However, as time passed, Quaritch began to question where Jake's loyalties lay, believing his contact with the native culture to be distancing him from humanity. When Jake, in his Avatar form, attacked a bulldozer, Quaritch personally went to retrieve him by force. Quaritch proceeded to use one of Jake's diary entries, in which Jake lamented the hopelessness of convincing the Na'vi to leave Hometree, to justify 'offensive action' in leading an air assault on Hometree under promise of relatively humane treatment of the natives. First firing gas, then incendiary rounds to flush out the Na'vi, Quaritch used several salvos of rockets to bring the Hometree down, actions which still resulted in the death of many Na'vi including Neytiri's father, Eytukan. When Jake, Dr. Augustine, Norm and Trudy fled, Quaritch was the first to act. Maskless, he picked up an assault rifle and marched out of the POC to empty it and his Wasp sidearm at the rebels as they fled, fatally wounding Dr. Augustine. The Battle for Pandora, and Death kills Quaritch with two arrows.]] Quaritch led the Assault on the Tree of Souls against the Na'vi in a Dragon Assault Gunship. While the Na'vi's numbers appeared to give them the advantage, Quaritch's heavily armed soldiers quickly dispatched the lightly-armed Na'vi, despite some losses. Unexpectedly however, the tide changed when Pandora's wildlife, seemingly at the direction of Eywa herself, attacked the RDA forces in mass. With all escorts distracted or destroyed, Jake Sully was able to board the Valkyrie containing two Daisy Cutter Bombs, and destroyed it, leaving only Quaritch in his Dragon gunship. Despite Quaritch's best efforts, Jake still managed to cause catastrophic damage to the gunship, causing it to lose control. Boarding his AMP suit, Quaritch leaped from the Dragon before it crashed and advanced alone to the Tree of Souls. He stumbled accross the module containing the link pod being used by Jake, but was attacked by Neytiri riding a Thanator before he could destroy it, losing his 30mm rifle and killing the Thanator in melee combat, leaving Neytiri trapped beneath her slain mount. Jake's timely arrival caused Quaritch to focus on him, saving Neytiri in turn. Using the bayonet of the wrecked Amplified Mobility Platform Suit's rifle, Jake was able to deflect Quaritch's attacks in a bout of fierce hand-to-hand combat long enough to land a piercing blow to the glass canopy. The damage to the AMP suit allowed the toxic Pandoran air into the suit, forcing Quaritch to don an Exopack. Realizing Jake's same weakness, Quaritch made a break for the module and managed to smash a window, an empty control link module, and part of a wall open before resuming combat. This exposed Jake's human body to the toxic air, interrupting the link to Jake's Avatar, in time allowing Quaritch to subdue Jake. Intending to use Jake's own Na'vi knife to cut his Avatar's throat in a symbolic act of retribution for his betrayal, Quaritch's own life was ended by two arrows to the chest fired from Neytiri, who had taken the time to free herself during the fight between Jake and Quaritch. Personality and traits Miles Quaritch looked and acted like a life long military man. He wore his hair short and was covered with battle scars, most notably a trio of claw marks on the side of his head, most likely caused by a Viperwolf. He only respected force, and showed little respect for the Na'vi or their home. He destroyed their Hometree, killing numerous Na'vi in the process, without regret. He also killed Neytiri's Thanator during their encounter and would have killed Neytiri too if Jake hadn't arrived in time to stop him. His long-running military career was representative of his personality. He regularly worked out to off-set the low gravity on Pandora so he didn't get "soft". He was in outstanding physical condition, despite being middle aged, and he was known to leave his Exopack back in his base for short periods when entering combat in the poisonous atmosphere of Pandora when he felt the situation demanded it. An expert with his AMP suit, he was still familiar with combat techniques as demonstrated by his marksmanship and his hand-to-hand combat skills. Quaritch was an excellent military leader, and was also charismatic, as shown by the way he inspired his troops during the meeting before the assault on the Tree of Souls. Despite being a fierce and merciless warrior, Quaritch also claimed to be a man of his word, indicating that he had a code of honor. He also claimed that he "takes care of his own" and initially seemed fond of Jake Sully, but after Jake sided with the Na'vi, Quaritch then tried to kill him. Abilities Miles Quaritch was an outstanding soldier and warrior and was a deadly opponent in combat. He claimed to have survived three tours of Nigeria without a scratch. Quaritch was an expert marksman, managing to fatally wound Grace Augustine during the Avatar team's escape. His prowess in close range combat was also considerable and it took the combined efforts of Jake Sully and Neytiri to finally defeat him. Quaritch was an expert with his AMP suit, which made him even more lethal due to the protection the suit provided. Relationships Jake Sully When Jake first arrived on Pandora, Quaritch was very interested in him, as Jake was the replacement in the Avatar Program for Tom, his deceased twin brother. Quaritch soon made an offer to Jake, that if he gained intelligence on the Na'vi, Quaritch would speak to the RDA executives about paying for Jake to have an operation to fix his spinal injury. Jake at first agreed willingly and gave Quaritch information about Hometree and the Tree of Souls. Jake looked up to Quaritch as a father and Quaritch treated Jake like a son, only until Jake began to show serious affection for the Na'vi. Quaritch began to question Jake's loyalty after not reporting to him for two weeks. Their relationship fully changed after Jake attacked one of the bulldozers. From then on, Quaritch viewed Jake as a traitor to humanity. Parker Selfridge Although Selfridge was in charge of all operations on Pandora, Quaritch was determined to use force even if Selfridge disagreed. Selfridge was not as ruthless as Quaritch and was more reluctant to let Quaritch attack Hometree and the Tree of Souls, though not reluctant enough to really try and stop him. Quaritch promised Parker that they would bomb the Hometree in a more or less humane way to get his permission. Dr. Grace Augustine Quaritch and Grace had little to no respect for each other, as both disagreed with the way that communications with the Na'vi should be handled. Quaritch wanted to use force to get the Na'vi to cooperate, while Grace on the other hand was against any form of force. At one point after Jake's betrayal, Quaritch actually threatened to shoot Grace. Grace is later shot by Quaritch while escaping from Hell's Gate with Jake, Norm and Trudy. She dies of her injuries before she can be saved by the Omaticaya. Symbolism *His final battle with Jake symbolized the entire conflict; both were fighting with artificial bodies that are different in construction. Quaritch's AMP Suit represented the technologically advanced humans, while Jake's Avatar represented the organic and natural Na'vi. *However, as Quaritch himself alluded to, Quaritch's suit and Jake's Avatar were both the products of human industrial science. This supported Quaritch's view that Jake was a traitor who is only fooling himself ("You think you're one of them?") when he chose to side with the Na'vi. *More symbolically, an underlying discourse of the movie is one of industrialization vs nature, but the theme is literally embodied when the Pandoran wildlife attacked the RDA soldiers in response to their incursion. This was consistent with the film's environmental, anti-industrial overtones. *''Miles'' in Latin (mee-less) means "soldier". *There are some foreshadowing lines on the film, for example: **Quaritch at his safety brief: "We have an indigenous population of humanoids, called the Na'vi. They are fond of arrows dipped into a neurotoxin that will stop your heart in one minute" - He dies at the end through two of those arrows fired by Neytiri. **Quaritch on his AMP suit said : "Nothing's over while I'm breathing!" He took his last breath of air which inclined that War for Pandora was over. Memorable Quotes "You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact." :- Quaritch welcoming his team. "It is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed. Not with all of you." :- Quaritch getting the attention of the 'fresh meat'. "So, you find yourself some local tail, and you just completely forget what team you're playin' for?" :- To Jake after he attacks a dozer. "This is Papa Dragon. I want this mission high and tight. I want to be home for dinner." :- Quaritch speaking prior to the assault on the Tree of Souls. "Nothing's over while I'm breathing!" :- Quaritch speaking to Jake before their battle. "Hey Sully, how's it feel to betray your own race?" :- Quaritch taunting Jake in mid-fight. "''These dumb bastards ain't getting the message. Alright, let's turn up the the heat. Switch incendiaries."'' :- Quaritch to Dragon gunner. "Come on, come to papa!" :- Quaritch just before killing Neytiri's Thanator. "Out there, beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes." :- Quaritch explaining Pandora to the new-comers. ''"Light her up!" '' '' - ''Quaritch to Dragon gunner when Trudy attacks his ship during the Assault on the Tree of Souls de:Miles Quaritch fr:Quaritch nl:Miles Quaritch pl:Miles Quaritch Category:Avatar Category:Characters Category:Human Category:RDA Category:Deceased